Fool in Reverse
by UltimateParadox
Summary: Small towns lead to big, slanderous rumors, especially when an outsider is concerned. Souji Seta has just moved in with his uncle, and Yosuke is drawn into the stranger's web in order to sort out the truth. AU, eventual YosukexSouji. Hiatus
1. Boring

**A/N: How many Persona 4 fans got excited about the anime premiere? Here's a hint: at least one, and that's this writer here. Then again, I was also excited for The Lion King on Bluray, so whatever. :D**

**I'm going to be introducing characters the Western way. First names first.**

**AU, so be prepared. **_**Possible**_** YosukexSouji, tell me if you want it in a review.**

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><p><strong>Fool in Reverse<strong>

**Chapter 1: Boring**

The new kid was a strange, quiet kind of kid, Yosuke observed. He introduced himself to the class as Souji Seta on a whisper of breath, and hadn't created an uproar when faced with King Moron's obnoxious accusations. He'd taken it all in stride before taking his new seat at Chie's side, silent as would probably be his trademark.

What a boring guy.

Hours ticked by sluggishly, unwelcome when the weather outside the school was cool and foggy while the interior was muggy with humid air and packs of students on the prowl like starved hyenas. It was a relief when the last chime of the day from the school bells resounded from the speakers and Yosuke was up from his chair in record time.

"That excitement better be to finally watch my movie so I can have it back," drawled a bored-sounding voice from the set of seats in front of him and Yosuke looked to see Chie Satonaka leaning back casually in her chair, a smirk pulled on her lips, watching him expectantly through her slightest fringe of brown bangs.

The new kid was watching him, too, but only for a moment. He looked decidedly bored with whatever was going on between them, and turned his attention towards packing his school bag.

Well, it's not like keeping Souji entertained was Yosuke's job. "About that. Chie, um," Yosuke started, excuses dancing on the tip of his tongue, but gracefully avoiding turning into spoken words. "I'll get to it! Maybe tonight, or maybe tomorrow...or maybe tomorrow night."

Chie snorted before reached an arm out. Yosuke thought she was going to smack him one for just a second before her hand landed on the transfer student's shoulder. "Can you believe this guy, Seta? Brosuke here's had my _Trial of the Dragon_ for about two weeks now. What's more, I'm willing to bet he hasn't even looked at it since I lent it to him!"

In his opinion, Souji didn't really seem interested in Yosuke's terrible time management and misdeeds. Instead, he looked like he was being forced to attend something he didn't want to, chained down by Chie's grip. Yosuke almost sympathized.

He didn't have a chance to defend the poor sap or to rebut Chie's not-so-baseless comments. Chie was distracted from his plight a second later when the girl in front of her stood up, bag in hand, and started heading towards the door.

"Y-Yukiko! Hey! Wait!" Finally dropping her hand from Souji's person, the girl rocketed to her feet to follow her. She had every right to be concerned by Yukiko Amagi's abrupt departure, reasoned Yosuke. The girls were inseparable on the worst of days, Yosuke having played the third wheel on a not-date many a time over the past six months he'd been living in the rural town of Inaba, and found the behavior of the dark-haired girl a little more than shocking.

A chair other than Chie's squeaked back and Yosuke watched Souji retreat from the room, quiet like a phantom, and when he had disappeared passed the door frame, it was like he was never there at all.

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><p>Inaba, being the small town that it was, was no stranger to a specific invention Yosuke liked to call the Rumor Mill. Everyone knew everybody else's face and were friends with every generation of another's family, so Souji Seta's arrival in the town had been known before the kid's train had even pulled into the station. Mouthy mothers and curious teenagers gossiped while browsing the aisles of Junes where Yosuke worked within earshot. He heard stories that could have been fact (<em>"I heard he flunked out of his fancy Tokyo school and his family was so ashamed they moved him away!"<em>) to stories that not even a toddler would believe (_"He's hiding out from the yakuza! Probably stole from some head honcho, or something!"_). Either way, Yosuke ended up rolling his eyes.

Thinking about it, he should have expected the sudden rush of new rumors now that Souji had actually settled into Inaba.

"Yes, I saw him walking along the flood plain about an hour ago with the other high school students," a woman chattered on her cellphone while Yosuke rearranged a stack of cans in the grocery department. A label was peeling off of one. That wasn't good. He reached out to carefully pull it free from the stack, grinning when the tower's balance was kept. "I don't feel safe having him in Inaba, honey. You know he's a delinquent, right? It's why he's living at the Dojima house! Straighten him out with a cop for a guardian, you know."

Well, that didn't sound fair. Yosuke didn't even know Souji Seta, but he'd sat in a chair for hours staring at the back of the boy's head and he hadn't come off as some thug or dirtbag at all.

Just quiet and boring.

There was a replacement can in the carton at his feet. Yosuke dropped the offending one inside before pulling out the fresh one, pleased by the label stretched taut around the aluminum. Focusing more than anything else he could ever remember focusing on, he inched the can into the open position, careful and steady.

"He's a rapist, for the love of God!"

The cans tumbled to the tile floor with the ever-so-quiet sound of metallic thunder. Or a metallic stampede. Or anything of the sort that was a metallic version of nails on a chalkboard. The woman on the cellphone gave Yosuke a savage glare, raising her voice in order to kindly tell Yosuke that he should be more courteous before stalking away, poisonous words still rattling from her mouth.

Yosuke stood amongst the carnage of cans, staring at the woman's back, mouth agape.

Two seconds later, a small child wandered over, a despondent look on her face. Because this was Inaba, and everyone and their mothers knew everyone in Inaba, Yosuke recognized through the horrified cloud in his mind that she was the local detective's daughter, Nanako Dojima.

It sent his thoughts in a complete circle.

Without a word, the tiny girl started scooping up cans, carrying a few too many in her little arms, and began to rebuild the display. Unfreezing, Yosuke quickly thanked her and got to work as well. Nanako didn't acknowledge him, but Yosuke was fine with that, ultimately pleased by her helping hand.

"He's not a bad person," Nanako finally spoke after the stack of cans had grown so high she could no longer reach. Yosuke looked down as he stood precariously on his tiptoes, attempting to finish the top of the stack. Nanako's interruption threatened to send the tower collapsing again.

"What's that?"

"My cousin Souji...he's not a bad person. That lady, please don't believe her."

Yosuke wanted to express his exact thoughts on the chatty woman, the same woman who was married to that one guy who was friends with that other guy who was friends with his dad, but he didn't really want an angry Ryotaro Dojima banging on his door in order to apprehend the punk that taught his daughter some strictly adult words. Instead, he said, "I wouldn't believe her if my life depended on it, okay? I only believe what there's proof of."

For a second, Nanako's eyes glittered. "Like on the law shows on TV! Like what Dad does!"

"Nanako," a quiet voice called down the aisle and Yosuke was glad that he'd let his heels touch back down to earth. On the far end stood Souji Seta, shopping basket hanging in the crook of his arm. He'd shed his school uniform, but he was still dressed a little more formally than Yosuke would have expected of a teenager after school. Really, it only reinforced Yosuke's "dull and boring" argument when it came to him.

Nanako bade him a quick farewell before trotting up to her cousin's side, smiling a little grin that looked too weak for a little girl.

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><p>Yosuke didn't like to think he was bigoted, despite what Chie sometimes shouted at him about, but he was starting to take some of the silly Inaba busybody rumors into serious consideration. As he'd told Nanako, he didn't believe what wasn't shown to be factual, but <em>this<em> could most definitely be incriminating against Souji Seta.

At first Yosuke hadn't wanted to take the trash out after dinner. He'd been comfortably full to bursting and he had a new album to rip onto his MP3 player, so the chore was an annoyance he hadn't wanted to deal with. The firm hierarchy between parent and son had won out in the end, however, and the heavy trash bags were dragged down the street to the dumping area, already piled high with black and white sacks bulging with lumps of garbage.

And a little further down the street, under a flickering street lamp, stood Souji Seta, shoulder to shoulder with the town's other social pariah, Kanji Tatsumi. By all accounts they should never have met, with Souji having just arrived in town and the current time while Yosuke heard that Kanji rarely even attended school, too busy assaulting others for the notoriety of his gang.

There was some sort of verbal exchange going on between them, but Yosuke couldn't hear the words, just the rumble of voices. Rather, the rumble of Kanji's voice. Souji was just as soft spoken as ever.

Yosuke would have called him boring again, but his heart was beating a little too rapidly, like a frightened rabbit's, and picturing Souji Seta as a gang member was hardly boring.

Then the exchange ended, just like that, and Yosuke frowned when Souji started walking back down the street towards him. Belatedly, Yosuke realized this could be a very bad thing, but before he could tuck tail and return home, Souji was _right there_.

"Yosuke...Hanamura, right?" Souji asked. Yosuke searched his eyes for a hint of something bestial, but those gray eyes were like a wall of concrete, blank and impenetrable. "You're in my class. You also work at Junes. It's strange how I keep running into you today."

"R-right," Yosuke stuttered. Manners drove him to hold his hand out to the other boy in greeting, but his senses screamed against it. Souji took the hand and shook it once, grip loose but certainly strong, anyway, and the handshake was over before the pros and cons tipped any scales.

Souji turned his head to the side for a moment. "You were not this shy in class today," he said, voice lilting at a question he hadn't asked.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Yosuke found himself apologizing. Quickly, he scrambled for something to say that wouldn't put him on a possible gangster's hit list. "You're staying with the Dojima family, right? U-uh, word goes around town fast, that's how I know. A-anyway, could you tell Nanako I said thanks for her help today?"

Yeah. That was eloquent. Yosuke wanted to smash his head into the garbage dump.

It turned out that Yosuke's inability to make flattering small talk wasn't all for naught, as Souji's lips turned up a little bit. "I'll do that."

There was an expanded silence in which Yosuke could feel sweat beading beneath the collar of his shirt. He was nervous, shamefully nervous, and he hoped he'd never have to tell anyone he was scared stiff by a boy who only wanted to say hi, lest he surrender his man card.

"Do you know if there's anything like a Family Mart around here?" Souji asked, breaking the thin ice. "I finished my last Sobay, so..."

Convenience stores. The maybe-gangster-rapist wanted to know where he could find a convenience store. Yosuke wanted to laugh.

"There's a 7-11 closer to the shopping district, but it's really small," Yosuke answered, proud of how strong his voice came out.

"Thank you," Souji said before he started walking away. If it wasn't an obvious dismissal, Yosuke didn't know what was. "Oh!"

Yosuke's heart jumped.

Souji had managed to take only a few steps behind him, so he turned his head to the side to see the silver-haired boy looking at him. "Y-yes?"

"You should probably watch Miss Satonaka's movie tonight. She'll just get angry again."

Yosuke had only seen Souji Seta three times, but he was sure of one thing that the rumors had always gotten right: he was a weird kid.

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><p><strong>AN: Longer chapters promised in the future. I promise.**


	2. Gang

**A/N: Holy crap, you guys. For the past year I've written things that maybe get 2 reviews at the most, some months apart, but within 48 hours I had 5. I think I'm going to like the Persona community. Accept me, por favor? Because I love you.**

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><p><strong>Fool in Reverse<strong>

**Chapter 2: Gang**

Yosuke yawned and Chie turned back in her chair to give him a little glare. He frowned back; like he could help it if Chie was annoyed by him. It wasn't even his fault, really.

There was no way he could have come to blame about the sudden surge of motorcycle activity in his neighborhood and that they'd been characteristically loud. It wasn't his fault that he was concerned about when he had finally pulled _Trial __of __the __Dragon_'s disk out of its case that the roaring of motorcycles outside had caused him to jump and drop the disk in just the right manner that it had cracked. It also wasn't his fault that he'd been worried sick all night about it and his fate once the very girl that was glaring at him found out.

When Chie returned to facing the front of the classroom, Yosuke turned his frown at the back of Souji's head. He was up late worrying about this kid, too, and what his presence meant for Inaba. He was an uneasy presence without having any real presence at all, easily slipping into place as the quiet kid who sat next to that loud girl or the boy living at the Dojima residence.

It didn't excuse the mysteries about him, though, like what in the world he thought he was doing hanging out with Kanji or why he'd even been shipped over to Inaba in the first place. Too many dangerous scenarios buzzed through Yosuke's mind at the thought and they mixed terribly with the gentle smile he'd given him last night amongst the rancid scent of families' trash.

Maybe Yosuke'd just have to get over himself and ask the kid what was up. Especially with the Kanji part, because that was sort of his business. After all, the sounds of motorcycles and motorcyclists weren't the only things he'd heard last night while he lamented over Chie's doomed DVD. Kanji Tatsumi had a very distinctive, utterly horrifying set of lungs that probably made the people he yelled at have a new need for diapers.

When the lunch break rolled around Souji was adopted by Chie and Yukiko. There wasn't an argument about it, but Yosuke thought Yukiko was a little uncomfortable, constantly shooting glances up at the wall clock or her cellphone screen. Chie and Souji struck up a friendly conversation along the lines of, "How's Inaba treating you?" and, "I'm almost all unpacked".

"What's eatin' you, Yukiko?" Yosuke finally asked over the top of their heads. They both cast him a backwards glance before they looked at Yukiko, catching the look of surprise on her pretty features. Chie had the grace to look mildly contrite for not taking notice and parroted his question.

At first it didn't look like Yukiko was going to acknowledge her antsy behavior, but her shoulders slumped and she hid her eyes behind her bangs. "I can't tell you much," she admitted, "but I can tell you that there's a guest at the inn that's making trouble with my mother. I'm just worried about her."

Wincing, Yosuke backed off and relaxed his back against his chair. Souji didn't take the hint to butt out of the situation, chose instead to lean forward and ask, "The inn?"

Props for making the question impersonal, Yosuke decided. It could have been the guest or her mother or Yukiko's involvement herself, but he had turned the situation onto himself. He was the new kid, after all, and he was the star.

Chie was glad to explain, swooping in with details of the Amagi Inn and its grandeur and splendor. He didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but Chie's extravagant description pulled Yukiko out of her funk as she began fervently denying a lot of her friend's eccentric exaggerations.

Souji was smiling gently. He caught Yosuke watching him and smiled a little wider, like they'd just shared a secret the girls weren't privy to. Yosuke didn't get it, but when he looked back, Chie and Yukiko were bickering amongst themselves like good friends rather than poking around and hiding behind modesty. The atmosphere had shifted into something a little more homely and comfortable.

Yosuke's eyes darted back to Souji, but the other boy wasn't looking at him. Fat drops of rain had begun to thud against the school's windows and silver eyes were watching them roll down the glass.

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><p>It had happened more than he'd like to admit in the city and Yosuke was starting to think city girls and country girls were a lot more alike than he'd initially believed. His <em>goods<em> hurt and he was sure there was a track resembling the underside of Chie's shoe on his pants from her target-locked kick of righteous fury.

He was also down one cracked DVD.

Moving was still a little painful, so instead of riding his shoddy bike, he was walking it home before hoofing it to Junes to help with a sale in the men's underwear department. Although he was glad the rain had stopped to a light drizzle, he bit back a groan, unhappy that his father was so pushy and in no hurry to help grown men find the panties of their dreams. He was also unhappy with his inconsistent schedule, resolving to have a talk with the old man later that night.

As Yosuke approached his home, he was shocked (but only a little, he'd swear later, because men don't jump or anything so scaredy) when he saw Kanji Tatsumi hanging out by the same lamp post as the night before. He was watching him, thick arms crossed, but before long he lost interest and glared at the neighbor's high-walled fence.

"Are you waiting for Souji?" Yosuke asked. Realizing he'd just accosted _Kanji __Tatsumi_ was a delayed reaction, but when it hit him it felt like the thug had punched in straight in the face.

Kanji looked like he wanted to punch him straight in the face, at any rate. "How's that any business of yours?" he growled.

"It's not!" Yosuke squeaked, but he did it like a man, dammit. Unlocking his home's gate was next on the list to safety and Yosuke did so without preamble. The sounds of motorcycles reached his ears and Yosuke glanced over his shoulder in time to see a bike whiz by in a blur of blue and high decibels. More bikes zoomed by after that and Yosuke saw the expression on Kanji's face darken with each one to pass.

Wither a bitter curse, Kanji shoved himself away from the lamp post and skulked away down the street before disappearing around the corner.

Yosuke had enough time to slow his heartbeat and lean his bike up against the side of the house before he heard footsteps outside his gate. Peering over, he saw that damnable Souji Seta walking down the street beside a cheery-looking Chie, the girl talking animatedly while Souji seemed to keep them focused on not walking into anything or anyone.

"Hey," Yosuke called and Chie's stream of words cut off abruptly.

"Yosuke!" she cried before she glared at him. "That gate best be locked before I go in there and smash something of yours!"

"Yeah, right, like you didn't smash my nuts already," he retorted with a bitter scowl. He heard stifled laughter and saw Souji watching him with a smile. It almost bothered Yosuke, how much that kid could smile and how many smiles he could come up with, but he didn't hold it against him. Smiling was hardly something to slam judgment down on. "Keep laughin', Seta. You keep hanging with her and you're bound to feel the wrath of her tae-kwon-do or judo or whatever."

"I'll keep that in mind," Souji replied.

The kid was like a wall, Yosuke thought. Nothing ever seemed to bother him, even if he'd looked like the world had come to an end around him yesterday. He seemed to have gotten out of his sad-sack and was easing into Inaba easily, even if Inaba was fogged over in ignorance. The rumors weren't hurting him, so it seemed, and that was why Souji was like a wall. They bounced off him like tennis balls and he stood strong.

And if Souji was like a wall, then Chie was the girl playing behind the wall.

And if Souji was like a wall and Chie was the girl behind the wall, then Yosuke was creeping in ultimate degrees.

With a sigh, he said to Souji, "You know, your friend just left. And if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna leave, too. Unlike Chie, I'm going to go break my back working for _the __man_."

Retreating, he heard Chie ask Souji about his friend, but didn't hear Souji's response when his house's door closed shut.

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><p>"Every day's great at your Junes!" he called out after some pretty girls a year above him as they left the clothing department. They giggled a little and Yosuke wasn't sure if it was because they liked him or they pitied him. He chose the former in order to shed some light on his unfortunate job.<p>

The hours shifted by sluggishly, but the highlight of his day had to have been when his shift was almost over and two of Inaba's detectives walked into the underwear section. Ryotaro Dojima was a well-known face amongst the townspeople, renowned for his sharp wit, pit bull's tenacity, and for his most notable job as being a single father, the last being a topic of pitiful conversation amongst the older women in town.

The other was a fresh cop if the Rumor Mill was to be trusted. Yosuke couldn't remember his name, exactly, but he figured a fresh cop was still as liable to arrest him if he did anything suspicious as a seasoned one, and he respected the badge.

"Do you see what I came shopping for _now_, Adachi?" Dojima almost snarled, but there was an undercurrent of resigned exhaustion in his voice. Yosuke almost pitied him; the man had been on the force a long time, catching crooks and whatnot. Add raising a daughter and dealing with a rookie, the work was probably taxing. He could barely stand it when he had to train new employees at a department store, for crying out loud!

And then there was Souji Seta. The world seemed to be revolving around that one new kid, snagging the attention of anyone and everyone, but he was still a stranger in curious waters. He was the kid who lived with a cop and hung out with Kanji Tatsumi while also serving up friendly grins on a platter with a side dish of keeping Chie and Yukiko from tweaking out.

Souji Seta was an enigma in the dull town of Inaba and Ryotaro Dojima shared his house with him.

The other cop turned an impressive shade of red as he saw the neat stacks of boxer-briefs on the table before Yosuke, all in the manliest shades of gray and blue.

Adachi...Tohru Adachi, Yosuke remembered. He'd never actually had the opportunity to talk to the man, but he'd heard stories of how bright the young, new detective was, prodigious in the investigative arts. Yosuke was finding the stories hard to believe; Adachi looked like he was floundering all over the place and staring pink-cheeked at men's underwear was probably unbecoming of an officer of the law.

"R-right. Sorry, sir," Adachi mumbled.

Yosuke thought Dojima was expecting Adachi to hit the road, but the man stayed rooted to the spot like an eager dog. He almost laughed, almost, but he noticed both cops still had their holsters and they looked no less empty than when on active duty.

With an aggravated sigh, Dojima began to browse the underwear while Adachi stood off to the side. Yosuke couldn't even imagine a more awkward shopping trip. After a moment, Adachi seemed to come to the same conclusion, but he didn't run off like Dojima probably wanted. Instead, he began to look around the section as well.

Yosuke kind of wanted to die in order to just get out of there.

And then, to make matters worse, Adachi struck up a conversation. Yosuke _hated_ retail. "Are you usually this enthusiastic to sell underwear, kid?"

How in the hell had he gotten that impression? "We're having a sale today, that's all."

"Oh, I get it!" Adachi's face filled with some kind of glee. "So my boss is just a cheapskate, then?"

"Rookie!"

Both Yosuke and Adachi flinched. Dojima had a reprimanding tongue like a whip. Quieter, Adachi said, "I wonder if that tone works as well on us as it does at home. Nanako and his nephew are probably going to be straight-backed, law-abiding citizens all across the board!"

It wasn't the best time, Yosuke knew, but he couldn't really think of any other time to ask, "Have you met Souji, sir?"

"'Sir'? Wow!" Adachi looked awestruck. "That's right, I'm an authoritative figure! I almost forgot, being Dojima's slave and all."

"That...that's funny, sir."

Adachi smiled, but it was different than Souji's. Putting a name to it was impossible, but it didn't calm Yosuke like the new kid's. He wondered if it was because of the gun. The smile slipped away into a curious expression. "I've met Souji once, just last night. I had dinner with the family. He's real quiet."

Yosuke already _knew_ that.

"Have you met him yet?"

Oh, the question had been turned on him. "He's in my class. I don't really know him that well."

The sound of a throat clearing made them both stare at Dojima, standing a few feet away with a couple pairs of underwear in hand, casting them both a disapproving glare. "If you two gossiping old ladies are done...?"

Yosuke glanced at the empty customer service kiosk. "I can help you right over there, sir," he said quickly with a wave of his hand. It looked like Dojima ground his teeth but he couldn't quite be sure before he led the way. Adachi fumbled after them, empty-handed.

He'd just finished ringing up the detective when the cops' radios, attached to their belts, buzzed into activity. "All hands to the northern residential area. We have calls coming in about gang violence. Dojima, Adachi—"

Dojima was quick to press the call button. "Dojima and Adachi, reporting in. We're on our way now."

Without a word, Yosuke handed over Dojima's purchases in one of the new Junes re-styled bags, part of the sale, and watched the two leave. Dojima's cop-business look had hardened and he saw something that might have been competence on Adachi's face, but they didn't concern him a whole lot at the moment.

The radio voice said _northern_ residential area. Yosuke _lived_ there.

He clocked out a minute or two before he was supposed to, grimacing if he gave his co-workers any ideas, and dashed into the men's locker room. Yosuke traded his apron for his cellphone and dialed his house, listening and listening for the call to connect. It did with a quick clicking sound and his mother's wavering voice called out his name.

The gang violence was happening _right __outside_ his home. She instructed him to stay at Junes with his father, but it was difficult to hear her over the rumbling of motorcycles in the background.

He'd apologize for breaking his promise to her later. Yosuke was halfway home when he decided that.

By the time Yosuke reached his neighborhood, the fighting had mostly stopped. There were cop cars on both ends of his street like barricades, and he saw Dojima barking orders and Adachi wrestling to handcuff one particularly beefy looking biker. Another officer was shoving a furiously angry Kanji Tatsumi into the back of his cruiser.

Souji was sitting away from the insanity, watching the lights on the cop cars go red and blue, red and blue.

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><p><strong>AN: I decided to stop playing Batman and reading dirty Persona stories in order to bring you this update. **

**Also, that Coheed and Cambria song, "Deranged" from the Batman game? I know it's from Joker to Batman, but it keeps reminding me of Adachi to Souji. If no one writes a songfic for me, I will probably end up writing it myself (except I'm lame and can't bring myself to write songfics; can anyone else say 'guilty pleasure'?).**


	3. Breakthrough

**A/N: Boooo. Look, an update. And look, something's happening! Also, due to the overwhelming response to the shipping, I suppose this will end up YosukexSouji. You happy? Because I'm happy.**

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><p><strong>Fool in Reverse<strong>

**Chapter 3: Breakthrough**

For such a rural town, Inaba certainly was _noisy_. Yosuke remembered the dull roar of the city that was always constant, even in the dead of night, but it had been a natural kind of roar that he thought fit the area like bread and butter. The noise in Inaba, however, was a grind on his nerves he really didn't want.

Besides, he already knew what it was about. At least, in the beginning he knew about half of it, but by the first bell's chime of the school day, he'd learned the rest. It was barely lunch and he was exhausted with the topic, but it looked like Chie was just hearing it for the first time.

"Really?" she squealed in that not-quite-girly way she did, slapping her hands down on Yosuke's desktop. He frowned at her and let his eyes drift to Souji. Predictably, he was sitting silently in his chair like he hadn't been a witness to the Kanji affair. Yosuke wanted to confront him like an ass and draw all the attention to the new kid, unsure of why he hadn't done it yet.

"Yeah, really," Yosuke replied. "Tatsumi fought a bunch of dudes on motorcycles. It got into a huge rumble. Scared everyone. The cops arrested him and the bikers and that was it."

Cheeks puffing out in some kind of rage, Chie said, "Stop being so laid back about this! It was right by your house! Talk about crazy! Right, Souji?"

Souji opened his mouth to reply, but Yosuke beat him to it. For once, he took pride in his motormouth. "Why don't you ask him about the whole thing? He was already at the scene when I got there, Chie."

Satisfaction flooded Yosuke's veins when he saw Chie shift her eyes over to Souji at an astonishing speed, the color draining from his face rapidly. Normally he didn't like throwing people under the bus, but it wasn't fair that Yosuke was getting interrogated for information while he just sat there and zoned out into space somewhere by the podium.

As discretely as possible, meaning he wasn't being discrete at all, Yosuke heard last night's story from Souji's perspective. He said he'd been in the neighborhood, taking a walk—Yosuke wanted to call bullshit, because the Dojima house was quite far off and he knew, just _knew,_ that he had connections to Kanji Tatsumi—when he'd heard the squeal of tires scraping against the blacktop, turning just in time to see the motorcyclist fly off his seat at the insistence of Kanji's fist. The rest of the brawl had escalated from there, though Souji made it quite clear that the cyclists hadn't stood a chance even if they outnumbered Kanji four to one.

Chie called him lucky. She said it was great that he was safe. Yosuke didn't say anything.

Yukiko turned around in her chair, asked Chie something in a voice low enough not to carry to Yosuke's ears, if only just barely. With true discretion, he noticed that Souji looked just as confused and out of the loop as himself, so he didn't feel too affronted. Chie responded positively and Yukiko offered her a small smile before turning back to finish her lunch, a meal worthy of the Amagi family line. Food envy didn't tinge his vision though, and there was something just a little off about Yukiko. Her dark hair seemed to have lost some of its sheen, but he'd never admit to really noticing it because that was something _creeps_ did, and no amount of make up could truly hide the bags under her eyes. It was worrisome, but Yosuke knew better than to intervene, not when Chie was so fiercely protective.

"Sorry," Chie apologized and it was strange to him. Chie never apologized for anything. He was, however, unsurprised that the apology was aimed at Souji. The kid was managing to wrap everyone around his finger. "I know I said we could go to Junes today, but I'm going to go help Yukiko. I hope you're not mad."

Yosuke searched the other boy's face, looking for any signs of anger or anything to prove that he was bummed. Chie was cute and they'd apparently had plans—Yosuke knew he'd be mulling over that unfortunate turn of event for a while after the fact—but he saw nothing but the same indifference. "It's not a problem," Souji answered.

"Have Yosuke take you," the girl suggested next and Yosuke almost rammed his head into his desk. What had possessed her to do that?

"I am not up for rent!"

"It's really okay," Souji piped up, his quiet voice rising just a little. It was mesmerizing just how good the kid was at dealing with people. "I can just go another time. It's not terribly important to go today."

He could have just let it go. It would have been so easy. "I never said I wouldn't go with you. I have to check on some stuff there anyway."

Something changed in this eyes, something like resentment, but all Yosuke felt was pride. It wasn't that he disliked Souji, but any guy that could just walk into Inaba shrouded in volatile mystery and still manage to charm his way through everything he did was a person of interest. This was quickly and dangerously becoming a game, the game of Figure Out Souji Seta, and it started with learning which button did what when he pressed them.

Like a system reset, Souji's eyes returned to normal. "If you insist, Hanamura. Is after school fine?" Yosuke told him it was and Souji turned around front to face the rest of the classroom, and that was that.

* * *

><p>The electronics department of Junes was always suspiciously empty and infamously expensive. There was no way there wasn't a correlation, but Yosuke didn't dwell on it too badly; it was his father's job, after all. However, looking at the television sets lining the back wall, he felt dwarfed by their size—they could easily swallow him if they had gaping maws instead of screens—and considered that intimidation could also be a factor as to why so few townsfolk wandered in.<p>

He eyed his classmate from his place by the wall of screens, looking over price tags and statistics, and wondered how the hell he thought he could afford any of the displays.

Souji had tried to ditch him the moment they'd stepped into Junes, the punk, offering to let Yosuke handle is business and not to worry about him, that he'd be fine, but Yosuke saw through the politeness for what it really was—he did not want Yosuke to be with him. Yosuke pulled the manners card and insisted that they'd come as friends and should shop as friends, and Souji looked like he had several choice words for him, but he kept his mouth shut and allowed Yosuke to accompany him to the electronics department.

As for what Yosuke had to do at Junes, he never asked. That was good, because Yosuke didn't have a single excuse for joining him and getting caught in a lie wasn't one of his best interests.

It bothered him more than he'd like to admit that Souji was so eager to abandon him to the consumer store's masses of shoppers and day-long sales. He could have just denied him back at the school and Yosuke would have pedaled home with only his thoughts, but he had instead biked slowly while Souji walked towards Junes, making small talk about the weather or homework until he had to chain his bike up outside. They carefully avoided the topic of Kanji Tatsumi, both an annoyance and a comfort to Yosuke, who was really just bored of hearing about it, yet desperate for the details only Souji could provide. He doubted he'd shared his whole story during lunch and Yosuke felt the thought scratching at the back of his brain.

This game was too interesting, Yosuke thought, returning his gaze to the blank television in front of him. Its price tag had way too many zeros. Inaba was dull, and Souji's arrival had stirred awake his need for excitement. If the ending of the game was disappointing, Yosuke could congratulate himself for at least solving the puzzle of Souji Seta, but he needed to reach the endgame.

Someone turned the corner into the TV aisle and Yosuke nearly missed it. If it hadn't been for the sudden spark of life in the dead department, he never would've noticed the man. He was absentminded and his turn was sharp, and, really, did Souji have to be in such a terrible position? They both tumbled to the tile floor as the man barreled into him.

Yosuke barely stifled his chuckle. Today was just so _bad_ for the new kid.

The chuckle was easy to diminish, however, when Souji uncharacteristically overreacted. The bumbling man on top of him was pushing himself up with a grumbled apology when the boy flailed against the ground, ultimately knocking the poor fool back to the floor as he scooted out from under his weight, hands clawing against the display shelves. It made Yosuke want to see his face, but he'd realize that later when he was getting ready for bed, but at the present he only wanted to help him back up. As he placed a hand on Souji's shoulder and began to reach down for his elbow, the man, finally finding his feet, scowled and muttered something about the audacity of city folk—a statement Yosuke had a qualm with—before walking away through the aisle.

The single hand was enough to feel the concrete slab of tense muscles under Souji's skin. "Hey, man, you okay?"

A moment later the tension dissipated, but Yosuke could feel that not all was right. "Ah, yeah. He just startled me, is all," Souji answered, his voice perfectly confident as he hoisted himself up without Yosuke's proffered aid. "Where I'm from, if you get handled like that, you're probably going to be mugged."

"You've been mugged?"

Souji shook his head. "Almost, but never successfully."

"Harsh, man." Yosuke let his hand fall back to his waist before he grinned. "In Inaba, that's something pretty close to ridiculous. Your wallet is only in danger of being emptied because you're shopping, not because someone's jumped you in an alleyway."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Yosuke hummed. In the span of a second, he'd run out of things to talk about—but there were plenty of subjects, so many subjects about the city and growing up and hobbies and dislikes; so many topics—and their silence seemed to dampen the overly cheery MP3 of the Junes theme playing softly from the speakers strung up high near the ceiling. For some reason, though, he said the only thing that could have put his foot straight in his mouth. "Speaking of getting jumped, do you think Tatsumi got jumped, or do you think he did the jumping?"

Souji's gray eyes met his and stared. Yosuke didn't move—he felt if he did, then those eyes would slam judgment down on him in an instant. An eternity passed them by before Souji looked away towards one of the least expensive TVs. "I really don't know, Hanamura."

"Yosuke," he corrected without a thought. "People call my dad Hanamura."

"I apologize. I really don't know, Yosuke."

Yosuke smirked. The unsettling feeling he had in his gut whenever Souji opened his mouth wasn't present, replaced with the warmth of good humor. "Ah, man. Too bad. You're friends with him, though, aren't you?"

"Friends?" Souji made a thoughtful sound. "Maybe. I've only seen him around three times, and that includes last night when the motorcycle thing happened."

Astonished, Yosuke asked, "Only three? But I saw you guys chattin' it up like pals...or cronies."

There was a crook in Souji's raised eyebrow that had the effect of making Yosuke feel brilliant and idiotic at the same time. "Cronies? You have it wrong, Yosuke. I met him the first time at the train station when I first arrived. He was the first person to welcome me before my uncle showed up."

"What the hell was he doing by the train station?"

"Errands."

"...Sure, why not go with that?"

"Yosuke, I'm trying to talk to you."

"Right. Sorry."

Souji sighed and Yosuke feared he might stop talking, but it was unfounded. "That time you saw us we were just saying hey. We recognized each other. Then, we said good night and I bumped into you."

Yosuke lacked the deductive skills the police force seemed to be born with and couldn't pick out anything wrong with the statement, so he grudgingly nodded. "I see. You normally go walking around that neighborhood? You _are_ staying with Detective Dojima, right?"

This time Souji smiled, another one for the books of Souji Seta Smiles, but it was wide and open. "You said it yourself, Yosuke. This is Inaba. I'm not gonna get mugged, right? I've never taken a long walk at night before, and its affects are very relaxing."

"Unless you walk into a fight with Kanji Tatsumi and a bunch of bikers."

Souji rolled his head as though unsure whether to confirm or deny the words before he chuckled a little. "Whatever."

"Man, I really want to know what happened last night," Yosuke admitted. "Sorry about grilling you."

With a one-shoulder shrug, Souji said, "I don't blame you. Everyone wants to know what happened."

"I want to know what's going on with Yukiko, too."

"Amagi?"

"You know another Yukiko in this town?"

"I see your point."

Again, the awkward silence spanned between them, weighing down the few inches before their shoulders could connect. An idea hatched amongst the heavy quiet, an amazing idea if Yosuke ever had one, and he suggested, "Why don't we find out? Our own little half-cocked investigation team!"

"You're really that curious?"

"Yes!"

"You realize you hardly know me. You want me to help you investigate things that don't affect me?"

"...Yes."

"...Okay. I guess I'm in."

* * *

><p>That night, after Yosuke finished dinner and switched the TV on, there was a news report detailing the murder of a famous announcer. Mayumi Yamano was a beautiful woman with a round face and a sharp gaze, but she'd been found dead in her room at the Amagi Inn, the place she'd supposedly gone into hiding after a scandalous affair with a council secretary. He grimaced at the details—bruises decorated her, there had been signs of vicious sexual assault, and the killer had slashed her mouth from ear to ear in a mockery of a smile.<p> 


	4. Red Amagi

**A/N: I want to write some Minako stuff, but I can't seem to do it. So we get more eventual YoSou in another update for Fool in Reverse. I really like writing this one; writing from Yosuke's POV is really fun.**

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><p><strong>Fool in Reverse<strong>

**Chapter 4: Red Amagi**

Yosuke had thought the town had been wild yesterday, but Mayumi Yamano's death only served as fresh blood in the water filled with the gossip-thirsty sharks of Inaba's populace. The change was obvious—this crazy frenzy so enamored everyone despite the grim topic of conversation, rather than Kanji's abrupt arrest. No, Kanji Tatsumi was one-day only news, a buzz that would fade within twenty-four hours, but a murder in sleepy Inaba would be talked about forever.

He briefly wondered if Souji was getting jealous, seeing how his slander was set so far on everyone's back burners in light of recent events.

Mornings before the weekends were usually rather excitable—plans with everyone and anyone wrapped the Yasogami High students in social webs—but Yosuke's nightmares became reality with the amount of noise that echoed along the school's walls. He hadn't even entered the classroom yet and he could hear the ruckus.

"Hurry up or you're going to be late, Hanamura," groused a voice from behind him and Yosuke flinched. He knew that snide tone anywhere, that threatening voice that no poor soul should have to deal with.

"S-sorry, Mr. Moro...Morooka," he said quickly, sliding the classroom door open and dashing to his seat. If the teacher rebuked him for running, he didn't hear, such was the volume of his classmates. The sound died considerably when they realized just what moron had also graced their presences, but the titters of whispered conversations couldn't be completely wiped out.

Yosuke stared forlornly at Chie and Yukiko's empty seats. What the hell?

At least Souji was there, staring forward as King Moron took his place up front. He grimaced when he wondered how long his new friend had been sitting in this chaos, but was grateful to have someone to gripe to. Inevitably, Morooka couldn't keep the students quiet for long, despite his bellowing cries to shut up and pay attention, and Yosuke took the opportunity to reach forward and tap Souji on the shoulder. "Hey, man, what's up? Isn't this terrible?"

And it was so comfortable to call him man, bro, dude, whatever. His initial thoughts and suspicions cast aside, Souji Seta was really easy to warm up to. Amicable and soft spoken, he was inoffensive to anyone he came up to, the clumsy man who'd bumped into him at Junes not withstanding. It was hard to believe he'd been so put off by the guy. They were kindred spirits, two lone city boys in the Boondocks, Middle of Nowhere.

Starting an investigation team sounded like fun, a way to get hyped up in a town without a movie theater, where the most exciting place to go was the superstore. Maybe they'd find out nothing, feeling childish at the end, but Yosuke thought it'd be worth it.

Besides, investigating Kanji deserved some kind of reward for courage. Maybe they would get a commendation, especially if they found out he was up to something bigger and badder than just punching out bikers.

"It's a little loud today," Souji answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Eyes narrowing, Yosuke said, "And you're crazy if you think it's just a 'little loud', pal. This is nuts!"

Souji shrugged again. Yosuke took back what he said about calling him a bro or a dude. Currently, bastard was the appropriate name for him.

Giving up on that frayed topic, he tried, "Kinda strange that those two are absent today. I know they're practically attached at the hip, but Yukiko hasn't missed a day before and Chie only skips when there's something going on at the food court at Junes, and only if that includes beef steak."

"Is something going on at the food—?"

"No. Trust me, I kinda know Junes."

Souji shifted a little in his seat, looking uncomfortable, before he gave up his guise of paying faithful attention to whatever swill Morooka was _still_ trying to spit at them and turning in his chair fully. "I don't know about Chie, but didn't that announcer's death happen at the Amagi Inn?"

Oh. _Ooooh_. "Well, shit, man. No wonder Yukiko's not here! You're right, dude, it's just a little loud in here. I'd hate to see the event everyone's making at the inn, man. I wonder if she could even make it through the front doors, if she even wanted to leave at all."

Souji was looking somewhere behind him. Yosuke noticed and turned around to see someone standing in the classroom's doorway, the door sliding open unnoticed in the noise, and his jaw dropped. Kanji Tatsumi was supposed to be in jail or something, or whatever, but now he stood like a statue, staring into the room with a few envelopes clenched in his fist. Half his face was bruised, but it did nothing to dampen his intimidating stance.

"What do you want, Tatsumi?" crowed Moron and Yosuke winced in sympathy, but for whom he couldn't tell. Marching through the sea of riotous students fluttering around the room to and fro, Mr. Morooka approached Kanji with the bravery of a drunk confronting a bear, and Kanji's face twisted into a snarl. He swore the boy's lip was twitching. "This isn't a classroom for first years. Who sent you?"

Apprehensive of the blow that would knock Morooka back, Yosuke watched with interest, but it didn't happen. Instead, Kanji thrust the manilla envelopes towards the teacher with a growl, "Get bent. I made the delivery. I'm outta here."

He retreated from the room with his head bent low on his neck and his shoulders raised, looking formidable and frightening, but King Moron lived up to his reputation and tailed him out, barking something about manners and how testosterone controlled a lot of things, but a misplaced temper was just as unacceptable as other hormone driven urges. Embarrassed for him, Yosuke turned away.

"What a pain," he murmured as he sunk into his arms. The class, out of control anyway, immediately noticed their teacher's absence, and the lawlessness cranked up to eleven.

"Looks like Kanji was released," Souji commented. He tapped the top of Yosuke's desk until he looked up at him. "Where do we start investigating?"

"Bwuh?"

"The Kanji episode, or do we move onto the Amagi dilemma?"

Yosuke sat up straight again, staring at Souji like he'd just come down from heaven. "So you're really gun-ho for this?"

"For better or for worse."

With a crooked grin, Yosuke answered, "I think checking in with Yukiko would be easiest to deal with since we know where she's _probably_ at, and she's also less inclined to pummel us than Tatsumi."

Souji stood up. "Let's go, then."

Yosuke blinked. "Right now?"

"Are you afraid of skipping class, Yosuke?"

Oh, a challenge. "Of course not. I'm not afraid of anything! Let's get the hell outta this zoo."

* * *

><p>Souji was very understanding when Yosuke explained he wanted to lock up his bike at home before they headed out of the outskirts and into the urban areas, especially since the most proficient way of getting there was by taking a shady bus. After parking the bike alongside Yosuke's house in a place his mother wouldn't see it and suspect her son of ducking out of school early, a crime he was quite guilty of, they motored over to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus. Its doors were just closing, but the driver frowned and let them on anyway.<p>

The best part about the shady Inaba bus route was that it was so shady that no one bothered to question why two boys dressed in high school uniforms were riding it into the city when it was most assuredly still school hours.

As expected, upon arriving at the place, the Amagi Inn was swamped with media members and nosy bodies. Yosuke almost gave up then and there, certain that swimming through the sea of people to find Yukiko was a hopeless venture, but Souji gripped his arm tightly before diving into the throng. At first Yosuke was alarmed by the push and shove around him, but Souji was sure in his steps, and old muscle memory began to guide Yosuke well enough that he could brush of Souji's hand. He'd thrived in the city and learning to navigate crowds was an absolute must.

"Please, sir, we're not taking interviews...Hey, you! Getting pretty ballsy, aren't you? Back off!"

Yosuke and Souji both glanced at each other before they began to push through the people at an increased rate. That was definitely Chie's voice.

Finally, they pulled into the front of the crowd and Yosuke found hands pulling on his shoulders and pushing on his back as the crowd tried to get back ahead of everyone else, pushing him away and into the partition. He elbowed a woman in a pressed red suit in the ribs and couldn't make himself feel sorry for it; her nails were filed sharp, it felt like, and he really didn't like her clawing at his uniform jacket. The annoyance was worth it, though, because up front he could clearly see Chie dressed in a white kimono trying to ward off the mass of people straining to get passed her.

"Must've been hired for the day to help out," Yosuke called out to her and Chie, sharp as a tack, swung around to eye him.

"Y-Yosuke?"

"Me too, Chie," Souji said with a quick salute. "We came to see how you were doing. Can we help?"

Yosuke didn't remember ever agreeing to help Chie out, or agreeing to help anyone, for that matter. He just wanted the knowledge, and he supposed that made him just as horrible as the gossip whores passing truth and lies, but he figured actually helping out would be redeeming enough.

Away from Chie's eyes, Yosuke gave Souji a thumb's up. Souji nodded in recognition.

The harsh, tired look on Chie's face softened just a bit before a relieved smile spread across her face. "Really? That's real sweet. One of you can help me up front, since Yukiko's mom isn't feeling so hot, and...Yukiko's in the laundry room at the end of the west hall, so you can check in with her."

Chie lifted the small partition that had been hoisted between the crowd and the resident walkway. It was a nice touch that guests got their own walkway now that the main entrance was overflowing with people that weren't going to split like the Red Sea. He and Souji escaped into the safe zone quickly and Chie snapped at an eager reporter that tried to slip in after them.

"I'll wait here with Chie," Souji offered.

Yosuke snorted. "You're just nervous about exploring the Amagi Inn by yourself." Regardless, he left toward the west hell, examining signs posted high on the walls so as to be informative, yet unobtrusive to the guests. Like Chie had said, the sign labeled Laundry Room was located at the very end, and Yosuke slid the door open.

The room was a sterile white color with tile floor, but he couldn't describe it to anyone if they asked him. He didn't notice the décor. Yosuke was a little too distracted by the _red._

On the floor was a cream-colored comfortable, strange if he didn't remember that the Inn catered to foreign guests as well, but the massive red splotch staining the fabric was utterly spine-tingling. Kneeling beside the bloodstained sheet was Yukiko, wrapped in another white kimono, scrubbing futilely at the rustic spot.

She lifted her head suddenly when he entered and she was wan and pale, save for her eyes, which were red and puffy like the rag held too tightly in her hands. "Yosuke? What are you doing here?"

It took him a moment to respond. "Souji and I decided to stop by to see what was up. We're here to help if you need us."

"O-oh, that's nice of you. It's not really necessary, we're handling the situation just f-fine. Chie is fielding the reporters while Mother rests, and the cops have already deemed the room documented, so I can wash the stain o-out...They...they already took samples...," Yukiko rambled until she trailed off. Suddenly, she shot to her feet and to a blue trash bin nearby before she vomited violently. Yosuke rushed to hold back her hair.

Her unfortunate sickness made tremulous, wet sounds and Yosuke flinched. Yukiko Amagi, epitome of grace and elegance, blowing chunks was nerve wracking.

"...How about I help you, Yukiko? It's pretty big and you look like you could use a break."

Hesitantly, Yukiko nodded, even allowed him to help her back to her feet. He gave her a reassuring smile before he nudged the rag from her fingers. "I'll just work on it a bit more, and then we can dump it into the washer, okay? Just relax."

Yosuke worked in silence for a while, dragging the ruddy cloth against the comforter over and over, until Yukiko said, "That blanket was in Miss Yamano's room."

Dropping the rag down with a splat, Yosuke looked up at his classmate. He didn't know Yukiko that well, certainly not as well as he knew Chie, but standing in the laundry room beside a bloody blanket was so surreal that it felt okay to talk about anything. "Amagi?"

"Miss Yamano was bossy," Yukiko continued mindlessly. Yosuke caught her eyes once; they looked dull and dead. "She kept pushing Mother around. She was making her stressed and sick. I've been having to help out more and more, so I'd leave school and come straight here. I even requested Chie's help. I thought...I thought..."

"...Amagi? Yukiko?"

"I thought it would be better if Miss Yamano died so that Mother didn't have to suffer anymore!"

Yosuke found himself with an armful of tearful Yukiko Amagi in a heartbeat. Normally, he would have boasted—he, Yosuke Hanamura, holding the infamously unattainable Yukiko Amagi in a passionate embrace—but he was beginning to feel as sick as Yukiko had been. It was unfair how when Life dealt him the best cards, he couldn't even enjoy them.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, or something.

Well, he thought as he murmured something he couldn't remember the next second to Yukiko to try to calm her crying, at least we solved this little mystery in under a day. Case closed, I guess.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I think I just ship-teased a ship no one cares about. OH WELL. Leave me a nice review, mmkay? **


	5. Wings of a Butterfly

**A/N: There is an important author's note at the end of this chapter. Also sorry for delay, I was caught up in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and the apprehension for the game's arrival. **

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><p><strong>Fool in Reverse<strong>

**Chapter 5: Wings of a Butterfly**

"That sounds like incompetent police work to me," Souji said after Yosuke told him about the blood-stained comforter, voice low as to not spook the other bus riders.

"Really?"

Nodding, he continued, "Sure does. This is a homicide investigation. Photographs or not, the police more or less gave Yukiko's family the green light to tamper with evidence. Maybe I should tell me uncle."

Yosuke scowled. This little Investigation Team was his idea, but he had to admit that Yamano's murder was definitely out of their league. It had been a passionate, frenzied crime that warned of danger and chaos. Chasing after the murderer wasn't something he was prepared to risk. "If you want, man. Like, what if he already knows? Better safe than sorry, I know. I'm just sayin', dude. It's gotta be stressful."

Souji smiled. "Uncle Ryotaro has always been a little high strung." The smile faded. "He was gone this morning, though. Working. Anyone could have guessed he would be, but it was a little sad this morning when Nanako told me she was used to getting ready by herself."

With a soft sound of surprise, Yosuke sat up straighter in his seat, less cushion and more plastic over the bus's extended lifetime. "You're tellin' me she's really that thick-skinned?"

"What?"

"Uh, well. See, Inaba isn't the most private of places to live," Yosuke admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. "Stories from all over the town can be heard in every nook or cranny. Can't take a lot of 'em for granted, though."

Souji nodded slightly. "And about Nanako?"

Yosuke was getting to that. "I asked some ladies at Junes once, back when I first came to town, about the little girl that always came shopping by herself. Obviously, I was askin' about Nanako, but I didn't know that back then.

"They told me that she lived with her dad, the detective. They spun a whole lot of yarns, though, about calling child services, but nothing was ever done. Nanako seemed fine to me, and sometimes I'd see her and your uncle out at the park," he shrugged. "So I thought that a lot of what I'd heard was crock."

"It might not be all crock," Souji said firmly. "I've only been here a few days, and the situation is sensitive, for what I can tell you, but Uncle Ryotaro deserves his daughter." His gaze wandered to the window, the lucky guy laying claim to the window seat, but from the dim reflection off the glass Yosuke could just barely read the flat expression on his face.

The mood was officially sunk and Yosuke really didn't like bad atmospheres. He clapped a hand on Souji's shoulder, shaking the other boy a little. "Yo, man, I believe you. We're partners now, and having trust in your partner is just a _little_ important, don't you think?"

There it was, that charming smile, even if it was wavering. "Perhaps it is." Already that funk was lifting. Good, Yosuke thought, because being down in the dumps sucked.

Souji's hand shot out from nowhere and yanked the line. "Pay attention, Yosuke. I almost didn't notice we were coming up on the shopping district."

The shopping district meant close to home which meant...Yosuke sighed. "I really hope my parents don't find out I legged out of school. I'm gonna be in deep shit, you know, if they find out. And Dad'll probably make me work more hours to make up for it. And you know who I'm gonna blame? For once, not Dad. It's gonna be all _you_."

Souji gently pushed Yosuke up from his seat as the bus slowed to a crawl, and eventually, a stop. "What happened to trusting me?"

"I know you've got my back, but my parents are maniacal, bro."

It seemed Souji didn't have anything to say about the topic that wasn't immersed in jackassery, and they stepped out into the late evening air, relatively normal with just a hint of winter's chill still biting. There was certainly more of a skip to their step after leaving the gloom of the bus behind, chattering about little things like food and books (and Yosuke accidentally committed himself to the Timid Teacher series through a sly trick of Souji's; Yosuke forced Souji to promise to try the Man series). With Yosuke's attempts to delay the possible disaster at home and Souji's lax nature to help him in his endeavor, they wandered aimlessly through the shopping district. Yosuke hadn't even noticed they'd reached the apex of the northern section until a door sliding open to his left slammed against its frame with so much force he was surprised the building didn't rattle. When the girl displayed more abuse on the poor door as she closed it, Yosuke was even more surprised the building didn't collapse.

"Konishi Liquors," Souji murmured at his side.

Cries followed her through the thin walls. "Get back here, we're not done, young lady!" and "Sis, hold up a minute!" met Yosuke's ears, but he was uncaring about the voices beckoning her, because he recognized the girl. Her name was Saki Konishi, eldest child to the family that ran the liquor store, one of his co-workers on the odd day that they were scheduled together, upperclassmen at his school, and absolutely _smokin' hot_ and _single_.

Nevermind his encounter with Yukiko, Yosuke thought with fire in his heart, because he had not been crushing for four months on Yukiko. Saki Konishi, on the other hand... "Hey, Saki!"

Immediately the light-haired girl spun around on the spot, crimped locks flying into her flushed face, and the fire dimmed in his heart. There were tear stains on her cheeks and she looked just about ready to thrash any fool poor enough to get in her way. "Hanamura...?"

Toeing the line between concerned and suicidal, he waved to her. "Yo."

"Are you fighting with your parents?" Souji asked without provocation. Yosuke wanted to _punch_ him, punch him real hard, because that was _personal_ and if anyone was going to comfort Saki it was gonna be him. He'd have to stealthily get Souji to hit the road, but it would be worth it if he could rise from Junes co-worker in her eyes to true-blue friend, or something more.

"What's it to you?" Saki snapped like a whip, fingers hooked like claws. If she was going to attack, Yosuke wanted to stay very far away from her nails, long and evenly painted scarlet, but he supposed that Souji was his buddy now and he'd probably end up scratched trying to rescue him. Then, like magic, Saki's vicious visage melded into something softer, a little dazed. "I...I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have been so defensive. I don't even know you, so this is hardly a good first impression."

Well, _damn_. How the hell had Souji managed that? Yosuke was willing to bet if he tried such a blunt tactic he'd come to in the hospital missing an eyeball. Or both eyeballs. He shuddered.

Souji waved Saki's temper off easily. "I'm Souji Seta. I just moved in with my uncle."

Saki nodded slowly, that confused expression still on her face. Yosuke thought she looked tired, and was so dazed because she was just tired of _thinking_ about something. "I'm Saki Konishi," she replied in even, shaking his hand when he offered it before withdrawing hers close to her chest.

"So what's going on, Saki?" Yosuke tried. Saki shuffled on the spot, chewed her lip.

"Miss Konishi?" Souji prompted.

"It's...it's nothing you need to worry about. I'm just...I'm just going to go for a walk to clear my head. You guys carry on." Saki finally answered after a strained silence. "I'm serious. It's just a stupid fight, it happens all the time. I'll see you at work, okay? Bye, Seta."

They stood outside the liquor store, watching the girl until she turned a corner and out of their line of site. Without warning, Souji said, "I don't think she likes you much."

Confused, Yosuke asked, "What gave you that impression? We're totally chill. You're crazy, man." He paused before he remembered he was supposed to be a little angry. "And, um, _no_, kid, I'm totally after that. You back off of Saki, got it?"

Souji smirked. "Oh, is that how it is? Puppy love's cute, maybe she'll defrost a little."

"Shut up, dude! You're trying to read into something with nothing to read into!"

* * *

><p>School-wide announcements were always curious things. Yosuke usually preferred to sleep the Saturday morning away until lunch when he could go home (and home was a safe place because neither his mother nor father heard any ill-fated news, though he suspected his mom knew something) and do a whole lot of nothing, but the principal had called the school together in the auditorium. It was a situation that peaked Yosuke's curiosity and he went along with it without complaints.<p>

Neither did Souji, for that matter as they sat shoulder to shoulder, and Chie was yawning as she sat in the seat ahead of them. Yukiko was still absent, and Yosuke winced at the memory of the Amagi Inn's current critical nature. Throughout the entire room whispers bounced off the walls like frantic bugs. He hoped their gossipy rampages died down soon, or else he might have to run away back to the city in order to give his ears a break from the decibels, and that was saying something.

He tapped lightly on the girl's shoulder and she turned her heard just enough to see them. "What?" she mumbled under her breath in order to avoid Morooka's uncanny ability to kill any conversations during oh-so-important assemblies. The man had it in for every single one of them, Yosuke figured.

"How's Yukiko?" asked Yosuke.

Chie shrugged a little. "She was exhausted last night, and she didn't answer my text this morning. I can only figure she's sleeping in or working herself to the bone again."

"Do you want help again?" Souji offered.

Again, Chie's answer was a shrug. "That's what I asked Yukiko in that text. I'm probably gonna pop by after lessons. Thank goodness Saturdays are half days."

Yosuke grinned. "I dunno about Souji here, but I'll probably show up, but today and tomorrow are the last days I can for a while. Work, you know."

If Chie had anything nice to say to that, it was cut off by Morooka's shrill order to _shut the hell up_.

A moment later the buzz in the auditorium died. The cause was the principal shambling up front to face the student body, grim-faced and distinctly uncomfortable-looking. Then again, in Yosuke's opinion, any school officials were in a perpetual state of grim and discomfort. "It deeply saddens me to inform you of this," the man began in a wheeze of breath. Yosuke could have laughed, allowing himself to sneer a little. "but there has been a terrible tragedy. Last night one of your peers was stolen from us, her life ripped away from her like the wings off a butterfly."

The reaction was instantaneous. Frightened students came to life with nervous activity and Yosuke's light demeanor diminished. "What? Another death?"

"What is going on in this town?" he heard Chie gasp. Her shoulders were shaking.

The red curtains on the auditorium's stage pulled apart to reveal a gorgeous, ostentatious, and heart-rending altar. It was spread over two long tables covered in fine cloth, swamped with white flowers, most notably the arrangement of chrysanthemums around a single black photo frame. Yosuke was too far away to see the girl's picture and waited with his breath caged in his chest.

"Saki Konishi was a shining star that we were blessed with—" and Yosuke didn't hear the rest because _what_. The world closed in on him, surrounded him in a space of black with muted sound. His hands were tremulous on his thighs, but he stared straight ahead at the empty expanse.

He'd just _talked_ to her. Saki was...Saki was...Saki Konishi _couldn't_ be dead. It wasn't possible for her to be dead.

A hard hand gripped his forearm tightly and Yosuke gasped, inhaling for the first time in an unknown amount of moments. The aching in his lugs suggested quite a few, and the shocked breath was refreshing, giving his world shape and color again.

Following the hand on his arm, Yosuke met the eyes of Souji, stone cold gray as though the shutters had closed on the windows to his soul. "Yosuke. Yosuke, come on."

"W-what?"

"Hey, quiet down," growled Morooka, and Yosuke snapped his head up to see the teacher looming over them. "Have a little respect!"

"What the fuck!" echoed a voice from the other side of the auditorium, the section full of first years, and Morooka's intimidating gaze flew to the offender, with Yosuke and Souji's following it. Standing up from his class, arms clenched tightly to his sides, was Kanji.

"Tatsumi!" a concerned teacher called out to him.

"How the fuck did she die?" Kanji shouted. "This kind of shit doesn't just happen in Inaba. What the fuck is going on here, Teach?"

"Tatsumi, shut up and sit down, or shut up and leave," Morooka demanded as he and several other teachers prowled closer to the first years.

"Don't tell me what to do, Moron!" bellowed Kanji with enough fury to ignite a man. "Did you even know that girl? She lived on my fucking street, asshole! I used to play with her little brother!" Still, Kanji shoved himself through the sea of students until he was at the auditorium's doors, leaving the room in alarmed silence.

"Yosuke..."

Yosuke turned away from the doors to see Chie staring at him, twisted reverse in her chair, and there were definitely tears in her eyes. "What?"

"Are you going to be okay? I know you liked—"

"He'll be fine," Souji intervened suddenly and Yosuke jumped. The other boy's arm fell across his shoulders and pulled him into a weird half hug that Yosuke wasn't sure what to think about. He didn't want to think about _anything_. "He'll be fine because we'll help him through this. Right?"

Yosuke didn't hear Chie's answer. He was too busy trying to swallow the sudden urge to cry.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Murder number 2 in sleepy Inaba! Dun dun dun!**

**So, I seriously have a question I need answered by you guys, and I'm accepting answers until the next chapter is posted. If I were to write a Fullmetal Alchemist/Portal crossover, would anyone read it? Or a Code Geass/Final Fantasy X? **

**And it'd be good, too, because I hate shitty crossovers. Please answer in a review, even if you don't have anything to say about the story or chapter thus far.**


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